Man Wasn't Killed In Wreck In N.h.

A Deep River man injured this week when his pickup veered off a highway in New Hampshire -- and who was briefly reported dead -- remained in a hospital intensive care unit Thursday.

Thomas Conwell, 44, was seriously injured Monday night and was transferred by helicopter to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., where he had emergency surgery.

A press release issued Tuesday afternoon by the New Hampshire state police incorrectly reported that Conwell had died, an error made because of miscommunication, a spokesman said.

State Police Troop F Commander Lt. John Scarinza said police were contacted Tuesday by the medical center asking for next-of-kin information. When the trooper who answered the phone passed the message to the dispatcher, ``an assumption was made that the reason next-of-kin info was being asked was because the driver had died,'' Scarinza said.

A shift supervisor then updated Monday night's press release to report that Conwell had died.

Scarinza said state police take full responsibility for the mistake.

``There's no excuse, and I'm not going to make one,'' he said. ``It shouldn't have happened. It is extraordinarily unfortunate that it did happen. We as the state police seriously regret any stress or anxiety or anything the family was put through as a result of our mistake.''

The police realized the mistake Tuesday night and issued a corrected release about 11 p.m.

Medical Center spokesman Jason Aldous said next-of-kin information is readily available in most cases, and it is unusual for the hospital to go to an outside agency for the information.

``Certainly what happened here was a very rare thing,'' he said.

Scarinza said that from now on, shift supervisors will be required to verify all received information before transmitting it, even if this means calling the hospital right back.